I have always found it interesting, as we go through the
calendar year, all of the holidays and celebrations we entertain at and how
Christmas seems to be not so much a Holiday, as a season onto itself. Most of
the other days we celebrate are a daylong or at best a long weekend but
Christmas has weeks of preparation both commercially and religiously. No day of
celebration packs more good will into it then Christmas. It’s a time of the
year when people open their hearts and minds to try and make it their best
Christmas ever. It’s a time of the year when people are most benevolent and
when sharing and caring seems to go hand in hand. Most people could care less
if you have a bad Fourth of July but we all want to have a nice Christmas. So
the Grinch that rears his head in all of us from time to time seems to be magically
put to rest, albeit for a short while. Yes, Christian or not, there is
something magical and almost mystical about Christmas.
We live in an increasingly anxious world so those few weeks
of good will amongst all of us, are a welcome break from the suspicions and
sometimes allusiveness we experience amongst us on a daily basis. It’s a chance
to come out of our armor and rub shoulders with our friends and neighbors again. I’ve had to give Christmas a fresh chance
again in my life because for a couple of years after my wife died, it was just
too hard, and although I might have fooled a few, I didn’t fool myself. It took
the efforts of a loving family and a caring friend to put the Joy back in
Christmas for me but it’s back and so am I. But as I speak this year I know
there are those who are just starting that same sad journey and my heart goes
out to you. God bless you so much.
I write a lot about memories and how important they are to
all of us but there are no memories like Christmas memories, are there? I think
back to little kids so anxious they could hardly contain themselves, as they sat
patiently waiting for the gift-giving extravaganza we orchestrated. The one
that led them to that beautifully decorated tree on Christmas Eve. Our kids,
our grandkids, our friend’s kids, their smiles are etched forever in my memory
but now for many of us elders there has been a subtle change hasn’t there, as
life has passed us by. Still though we thank God for the very reason this all
came about. The gifts will eventually get used up and discarded but the gift of
our lord and our memories will never go away.
Many years ago Elvis sang, “Why can’t every day be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on
endlessly? For if every day could be like Christmas. What a wonderful world this
would be.” Yes, the sadness that comes when we take the tree down and put
away the decorations seems to be saying to us “it’s over for another year, so
lets get back to life as we know it.” But if nothing else comes from this
Christmas, except the love and caring this world so sorely needs-- even if it
was only for a short while-- then it’s been another Blessed Christmas hasn’t it?
Merry Christmas.
Love to all. --Mike
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